


but they will carry on for us

by doodleyLinguist



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Family, Gen, Goodbyes, Headcanon, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I made myself sad, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Not Beta Read, Pale King is an Asshole, Pre-Canon, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24282385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodleyLinguist/pseuds/doodleyLinguist
Summary: before she steps up to fulfill her role, Herrah gives her child one last gift.alt title: I thought too hard about hornets cloak and made myself sad then wrote a fic about it
Relationships: Herrah the Beast & Hornet (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	but they will carry on for us

Hornet had run all the way to the chamber, chest heaving heavily as she cried out.

“Momma!” She cried, stumbling towards the taller woman. “Why are you leaving? Are you going to sleep like Daddy told me?”

Running one gloved through her hair, her mother picked her up. “I am going to go to sleep.” Hornet cried harder into her hands, and the woman immediately patted her on the back. “Now, don’t be sad, my child. It’s to keep you, and everyone here safe.”

“Safe?” Hornet repeats, clutching the fabric. The woman nods, gently smiling. “Yes. I will be gone, but it will be to keep you safe.” 

“But I don’t want you to leave!” Hornet protested, looking up with watery eyes. “If you’re gone, who’s gonna protect Deepnest?”

“You will, Hornet. You’re strong and brave, and always willing to do the right thing, even if the right thing is difficult.”  


Setting Hornet back on the ground, she lifted the mask off of her face. Fabric rustled as she pulled off one of the many layers in her headdress, and presented it to Hornet.

“What is this?” She asked, running one tiny hand along the smooth red cloth.

“My final gift to you. It’s a cloak, just like the ones I wear. It will keep you safe and warm, and last for a long, long time.” 

Shaking out the wrinkles, she swept it around Hornet before wrapping it snugly around the child’s form. Grabbing a small, glinting object from her own cloak, she secured the loose folds with a tiny, round pin in the likeliness of a weaver. 

“As soon as you can, seek out the hunter in Greenpath. He will teach you everything you need to know to be strong. Keep this, as a reminder of your mother and her promise to protect the kingdom, and be willing to risk everything for what is right.”

Hornet stared at her mother for a split second longer before running in to wrap her arms around her as much as she could.

“Please come back soon momma,” she sobbed, her chest shaking as she held fast. “Please don’t leave me.”

“I will never leave you, my daughter. I will always be with you.”

The two stayed there for a while, Hornet crying into her mother while she stayed still, humming a faint, lilting song.

“When I sleep, I will dream of you, little spider. I will keep you in my heart always.”

“I love you too momma.”

Too soon, the Pale King had arrived, and gestured towards the guards.

“Herrah, we are severely behind schedule,” he began, before catching sight of Hornet. “Why is the child here?”

“She has the right to go where she pleases,” Herrah states, rising up. “As the heir to two lineages, she should have that freedom.”

The Pale King waved a hand dismissively, before walking onwards. “So I assume that the proper bindings are in place?”

Herrah nodded, and glanced down at Hornet huddled behind her. Her eyes were defiant now, as she gripped her mother’s clothes tightly.

“Very well then. You will now enter your chamber.”

Herrah began striding towards the room, as Hornet clung to her like a burr. With one hand, she began trying to pry her off.

“Child, this is inevitable. You cannot stop what will happen, you can only try to make the best of it.”

Hornet let go and slumped onto the floor in defeat.

“I love you.”

The doors to the den swung shut with a thud, as Hornet stood clutching the last tangible memory of her mother.

Before the guards could react, she was gone, running through the wilds of Deepnest as fast as her legs could carry her.

She stopped when her legs finally gave out, trembling like reeds in the wind. Leaning against a stray piece of metal, she breathed heavily, tears blurring her vision.

“I won’t,” she gasped to herself, “let you down, momma.”

Herrah had told her to go to Greenpath. That was above Deepnest, and she could get there quicker if she went through Queen’s Gardens. 

Steeling herself for the journey she was about to undertake, she set a route for the gardens above.

But first, she needed a weapon.

**Author's Note:**

> I always found it curious why hornet’s cloak was a bright red, despite her growing up in the white palace/Deepnest
> 
> This is pretty open-ended, so if y’all want a sequel feel free to tell me!!!
> 
> title is a lyric from shelter by porter robinson and madeon
> 
> Instagram: [@thespaceaxolotl](https://www.instagram.com/thespaceaxolotl/?hl=en)  
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> Twitter: [@NattoAxolotl](https://twitter.com/NattoAxolotl)  
> 


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